Gun registration is one of those things that many gun control advocates want and may openly advocate for, but there’s little political will to do any such thing in most states. Assault weapon bans are a bit easier to get through, especially when you grandfather in existing weapons.

Connecticut did that a couple of times, but with a requirement that grandfathered weapons be registered with the government.

Yet it seems the governor there now doesn’t think those grandfathered and registered weapons should even exist.

It seems the NRA is less than thrilled by this.

Following a gubernatorial debate in November, Lamont told reporters: “I think those assault-style weapons that are grandfathered should not be grandfathered.” He continued, “They should not be allowed in the state of Connecticut. I think they’re killers.”

Pressed for specifics on how he would go about enforcing his proposal or recovering the 81,849 “assault weapons” registered with the state, Lamont did not provide details. “Start by making them illegal,” he said. “I think that would be a big difference. That is what you start with.”

In other words, without any explanation of how his plan would work or promote public safety, Lamont is proposing to make tens of thousands of state citizens who complied in good faith with the registration requirements into criminals, with their guns summarily declared contraband and subject to seizure. To make matters worse, the authorities would already know who and where those citizens are.

Lamont ludicrously claimed that the grandfathered guns themselves are “killers,” but he provided no evidence that their owners are. He did not cite statistics, or even examples, of lawfully registered “assault weapons” that were later used in crime. Meanwhile, registered or not, semiautomatic long guns of the types banned in Connecticut are rarely used in homicide, as we have noted time and again, including here, here, and here.

The thing is, Lamont can get away with this in Connecticut in part because of their gun registration. If he and the legislature decide to purge their state of these kinds of weapons, they can. They know precisely who has them and who doesn’t.

Contrast that with New York, who banned so-called assault weapons and faced widespread non-compliance. They didn’t know who had what, so they were unable to do anything about the fact that so many previously law-abiding citizens decided to no longer obey the law.

Connecticut residents who trusted the government and registered their guns now face having them taken from them for no reason.

As the NRA notes, there’s no link between these particular weapons and some increased crime. Lamont just doesn’t like these kinds of guns so he wants to take them away. Thanks to gun registration, though, he can do that.

Yet while Lamont calls these kinds of guns “killers,” we have to remember that so-called assault weapons are used less often to take human life than hands and feet. Lamont isn’t looking to restrict them.

Then again, they’re also not registered, oddly enough.

Look, this is the prime reason to oppose gun registration of any kind and on any level. It will, sooner or later, be used to confiscate guns. There’s really no other reason for it to exist. People say it’s to reduce crime, but we know criminals don’t register their guns, so we know that’s BS.

And Lamont is helping illustrate this point perfectly.